A Final Fantasy VII Christmas Carol
by Sussurous
Summary: Sephiroth hates Christmas until three ghosts pay him a visit. AU
1. Chapter 1

A Final Fantasy VII Christmas Carol

Christmas Eve in Midgar

Paperwork was like shoveling snow during a blizzard, Sephiroth thought as he stamped and signed off on yet another request form. If anything the holidays had made it worse. How was anything supposed to get anything done with every able bodied man, woman and SOLDIER requesting time off all on the same day?

It seemed that the entire month of December had been dedicated to decorating, shopping for presents and going to parties so that nothing got done and who was left in charge of it all?

Him.

And because he was the one in charge, it was his duty to nip this holiday festivities ridiculousness in the bud. Or at least try to keep it from completely shutting down Shinra operations.

That's why his department was going to be up and running on Christmas day while every other office in the Shinra Tower, as well as the City of Midgar would be closed for the day.

If Wataii wanted to make a comeback,' He though irritably. 'there would be no better time than the Christmas Holidays. Not that they would dare.' He smirked to himself, as he stamped one form and picked up another. After all, he had personally handed them their asses after the war.

As far as he was concerned, Christmas was a waste of time and he refused to be a victim of its foolishness. That's why he'd insisted on the Neilbeim mission tomorrow. It was marked as urgent and he refused to delay it despite the wide spread groaning, bitching and complaining of his entire department.

Sephiroth paused in his work as he heard his outer office door open and slam shut. Listening, recognized the peculiar stomping footsteps of his Second in Command Zack Fair, as he approached his office. Zack was one of Sephiroth's closest friends but sometimes he grated on Sephiroth's nerves. The man was always so light hearted and happy that he even walked that way.

Normally a visit from Zack was a good thing and the number one reason why Sephiroth put up with Zack and his foolishness was the fact that Zack's lighthearted friendliness always seemed to put Sephiroth in a good mood. Just not today. Sephiroth didn't know why he was in an especially irritable mood. The paperwork hell he was dealing with wasn't any more voluminous than usual and he was trained to handle stress and diffuse tense situations.

He figured that, among other things, he must be suffering from eyestrain from the glaring green and red flashing lights on the garish Christmas tree that Zack had insisted Sephiroth needed to cheer up his office. He knew that his staff liked it and many of them had taken the time to place little wrapped packages under it despite his protests. Sephiroth found himself being constantly distracted by it. The flashing lights a constant distraction in the corner of his eyes

"What do you want Zack?" He asked before Zack had set more than one combat booted foot into the room.

"What makes you think I want anything?" Zack answered in a conversational, overly relaxed tone of voice that made the the small hairs on the back of Sephiroths neck to stand up at attention.

"Because I know you. Let me guess, you've come to whine about the mission tomorrow."

"No I didn't but since you mention it, I'd like to remind you that tomorrow is Christmas Day."

"I know that and you know that this mission is important."

"I was there at the briefing, Seph and we both know that it's a glorified monster hunt."

"There are women and children involved."

"Yeah, yeah and none of them have been casualties. Most of the reports were spotting's of monsters near that reactor. No ones even been hurt. If you ask me-"

"Which I didn't."

"And you should have since I am your first in command but if you had asked me I would have told you that this whole thing stinks like Heidegger on a hot day.

Sephiroth gave him an irritated look.

"What? Am I wrong?" Zack asked.

"Why are you here?"

"Oh! I brought you a present." He said tossing a small brightly wrapped and be-ribboned box at Sephiroth. Sephiroth caught it with one hand and tossed it right back.

"I don't want it."

Zack caught it easily and nonchalantly placed it under the small tree. "And I want you to quit work and come to a party."

"No."

"Come on Seph the party's going on right now in the mess hall. Everyone's there and having a good time."

"A total waste of time." He said, stamping another form with a bit more viciousness then it deserved.

"Seph, it's Christmas Eve."

"I know!" He cried, raking his hands through his long bangs and scraping his hair back. "How can I not know with every SOLDIER and employee under my command begging for time off and too busy walking around spreading cheer and joy and generally getting nothing done. This is military facility not a cruise ship!

This whole month has been nothing but insanity. And as far as I'm concerned there have been enough parties and celebrations and bullshit this month to set us back till spring and it's a total waste of time. And that stupid tree that you insisted on has been blinking in the corner and giving me a migraine for a solid week."

"Go on Seph. Don't hold back. Just let it all out now." Zack said solicitously.

Sephiroth scowled dangerously at him.

"All i'm planning on doing tonight Lieutenant, is to finish this bullshit," He said, inadvertently swiping a pile of papers onto the floor. "and going home to bed which is what you and any other moron with half a brain should be doing the night before an important mission."

"Anything else?"

"Bah get out of my office if you're only here to irritate me. I am not in the mood."

"OK, OK." Zack said hands up in a warding away gesture. "But before I go-"

Sephiroth gave him an evil look that looked seconds away from setting fire to something. Zack carefully edged away from the Christmas Tree.

"The other thing I wanted was to ask you to come and meet a good friend of mine tonight. She's a sweet girl and she's making a big old fashioned Christmas dinner. You know since I wont be around for Christmas and all."

"No."

"Think about it at least. If you want I can help you finish so you can get out of here sooner."

"Zack-" He snapped warningly. Then sighed, rubbing his eyes. He really was fed up and tired and being unjustly harsh to his Second. "Just go."

"All right, fine. But if you change your mind just call my cell, right?"

Sephiroth gave him a stony, stubborn look.

"OK. I'll just go now."

"And Seph?" He said, pausing in the doorway with a lopsided smile.

"What?" He growled.

"Merry Christmas."

Sephiroth's eyes flared and he finally shot a fire ball at the special Shinra issued, fireproof door just before Zack slammed it shut just in time to avoid the blast and went away at a fast jog.


	2. Chapter 2

It was very late when Sephiroth finished working, but he was satisfied that everything was in order, including the mission to Nebelheim. He didn't care that tomorrow was a national holiday. That was no excuse to slack off on important duties and it was his job to see to it that everyone did their job. If people didn't like it then too bad.

He went home to his apartment and heaved a sigh of relief that the day was done and things would now be one day closer to being back to normal. He took off his coat and his boots in his entry, placing them neatly and with military precision in the closet before he walked barefooted across the gleaming hardwood floor to the kitchen turning on lights as he went.

The clock on the wall told him it was after nine pm and from somewhere in Midgar he heard church bells ringing. He figured they had to be pretty loud for them to be heard on the 70 floor of the Shinra Tower and he growled, mentally adding noise pollution to the list of grievances he had about Christmas.

He dug around his empty refrigerator, finding nothing but water bottles and old takeout in there but he was hungry and sure as hell didn't plan on going back out to face the madness that the world had become. He picked out a container of leftover vegetables and rice that smelled and looked all right and didn't bother reheating it. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks and standing up against his shiny black marble counter he ate his meal.

He supposed Zack had made a valid point and the Nebelheim mission could have been postponed. There was no indication that it was anything so serious that it couldn't wait a few days. Even then the trouble was nothing that a couple of good SOLDIERS couldn't handle. As far as Sephiroth was concerned it was merely a public relations issue.

He sighed heavily, picking at his food. He felt tired and out of sorts. He knew that he wasn't exactly the most easy going person but he wasn't an ogre either. He cared about his men. He wanted them to be happy and he knew it was unfair to call them slackers when in reality they weren't. They were all highly trained and did their jobs exceptionally well, otherwise they wouldn't have a job, so a little leniency wouldn't have killed him.

He could have survived Christmas quite well. He didn't need the Nebelheim mission or work to occupy his time. He had a lot of things he needed to catch up on, he thought as he looked around his sterile looking and empty apartment.

'A lot of things.' He murmered to himself in the silent room, the only sound was the steady ticking of the clock on the wall.

A sudden loud clanking noise caught his attention and he was instantly on full alert. It sounded like something heavy and metallic was being dragged and dropped across his floor. The sound grew louder and quickly filled the room so that he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Smoothly, he pulled out the only weapon he had on his person, a foot long dagger that he kept sheathed at his waist and prepared himself for anything.

He strode to the front door, searching out the source of the disturbance, but when it found him, Sephiroth found himself unable to react.

He froze halfway to the door. Something was coming through his wall. Materializing, as though it was some kind of vapor that became solid. It was man sized and had dusty red hair and a ragged red coat. It was also wrapped and draped in thick chains. It took Sephiroth a moment but soon he recognized the being as his old friend and ex-General Genesis, long believed to be dead.

Genesis staggered into the room, weighed down with heavy chains that snaked along the floor behind him. Genesis looked solid and real, but that was impossible. Genisis was dead. But if this was real, if Genesis was alive, then by the looks of him, he wasn't going to be long in this world. He looked haggard, exhausted beyond endurance, his blazing blue eyes told of horrors witnessed and looked both tormented and dead.

"Sephiroth." Genesis croaked, his voice more like a caw of crow then the musical voice that Sephiroth remembered.

"Genesis?" Sephiroth said and for the first time in his life was rendered speechless. He could only watch as Genesis pulled out a tattered red leather book from an inside pocket of his coat. Slowly, as though every movement hurt, he opened it and began to read it in his creaking, dead mans voice.

"The most profound mystery is the Gift of the Goddess and in pursuit of this gift we set on a journey and take flight. Hopeless as it may seem, we stand and carry onward with the ripples of water that surface on our hearts."

"What?" Sephiroth said, blinking his eyes in confusion.

"For you it becomes quite usual to lose your dreams and pride. The Goddess herself has already let go of the arrow from her bow."

Sephiroth shook his head to clear his thoughts. Loveless. Genesis had come back from death to quote Loveless to him.

"Genesis what's happened to you?"

"From the dark sky, the Goddess comes whirling down."

"Genesis -"

"Like the blowing winds over an unknown waters surface-- softly and certainly."

"Enough!" Sephiroth shouted. "Stop quoting Loveless and talk to me. What's happened to you?"

Genesis looked up at him with his haggard eyes that were sunk too deep into his skull and Sephiroth shivered at what he saw there. His eyes shone with the madness of a long tortured prisoner who has given up all hope. Even the hope of death.

"What has happened to me? Only what will happend to you if you don't heed my warning, Sephiroth. "

"Explain."

"I am imprisoned by my past actions." He spat, shaking his chains with anger "My desires. My ambitions. I forged each link of these chains that I must drag with me eternally. Sephiroth, this is my reward. My Promised Land. And yours will be even worse if you continue on your current path."

"What path? I've done nothing wrong."

"Listen to me, I don't have much time. You will be visited by three ghosts-"

"This is ridiculous." Sephiroth said, turning away and trying to gather his thoughts. None of this could be real.

"Listen to me!" Gensisis roared, his voice thunderous like an oncoming train.

Sephiroth stopped dead in shock.

"You will be visited by three ghosts during the night. The ghost of Christmas Past. The ghost of Christmas Present. The ghost of Christmas Future. Listen to them." Genesis stared hard at at Sephiroth, demanding acknowledgement.

Sephiroth nodded mutely at him.

Genesis looked slightly mollified, then sighed as he tucked his book away and picked up his chains. His image starting to fade as he backed away toward the wall.

"Wait. Don't go." Sephiroth started to say, having so many questions that he wanted to ask, he started to follow his dead friend as he staggered under the heavy weight of his chains.

"Wishing for tomorrow... my soul shatters. My pride is broken. My wing is broken. I am no longer able to fly..." Genesis paused and looked at Sephiroth. "Heed this warning. For you, it's not too late."

-and then he was gone.

Sephiroth didn't know how long he stood there staring at the bare white wall that Genesis had passed through but eventually it came to him that he was just standing there, staring blankly with his mouth hanging open like a chocobo caught in the headlights.

"Ridiculous." Sephiroth muttered, looking down at his hands that were shaking slightly then back at the blank white wall that Genesis had passed through. The room was perfectly silent, except for the constant ticking of the clock. It was as though nothing had happened. His eyes traveled back to the counter. To the week old carton of Wutaiinese take out that had been his dinner. Snorting with disgust, he chucked the thing in the trash thinking that it had tasted a little off.

He was sure that he had just suffered through a halucination from eating bad takeout. Just a bit a food poisoning, he thought as he went about getting ready for bed.


	3. Chapter 3

A scritching, scratching noise woke Sephiroth from a sound sleep. Immediately alert, he witnessed a fully grown and very rare golden chocobo standing at the foot of his bed, throwing off a delicate halo of light. Blinking at it, his eyes glowing mako green in the dark, Sephiroth only had a moment to wonder why a golden chocobo was standing in his bedroom, when it lept at him.

With lightning fast reflexes, Sephiroth snatched the knife he kept under his pillow and threw it with infallible aim. His eyes widened in disbelief when the chocobo disappeared mid jump, allowing the knife to fly through it and across the room, embedding itself in the screen of his over sized TV. Sparks shot out of it and there was a brief flash and a pop before it fell eerily silent. Sephiroth knew without a doubt that he had irreparably killed it.

"Damn it!" He cursed. Then the chocobo apeared at his bed side.

"WARK!!!" It squawked. Sephiroth jumped like a startled cat and landed on the far side of the room in a crouched defensive position.

Impossible, was his first thought as he studied it, automatically tallying up its weak points. Then he remembered his visit from Genesis and it become probable, if unexplainable.

"Don't tell me you're the spirit of Spirit of Christmas Past." He said tensely.

"Wark!" The chocobo cried, ruffleing it's golden feathers and scattering golden colored dust all over the room.

"You have got to be kidding me." Sephiroth said, standing up straight and shaking the hair out of his eyes.

"Wark, wark" It said as it loped long limbedly over to him, its beady blue eyes shiny with what could only be amusement.

Sephiroth scowled at it. "Go away.''

It answered with a violent shake of it's head.

"I said GO!" Sephiroth ordered and made to shove it out of his room, out of his apartment and out into the hall way. Out the window would be better, he thought with evil intent since he knew that it didn't fly but he didn't want to read and sign off a report about a strange chocobo splat in the courtyard.

The golden chocobo was faster than he had expected and it evaded him. Sephiroth had no choice but to go after it and herd it out of his apartment. Logic was clicking away busily in his head and he understood now that this had to be some kind of a prank. A Christmas prank, like a present only worse. He knew of only one person who would be brave and stupid enough to try such a thing... and when he got his hands on Zack Fair...then Zack Fair was going to be dead.

Meanwhile the bird was being very cooperative, seeming to know its way to the front door and was more like leading Sephiroth to it. Sephiroth sighed with a bit of relief at the ease of this impromptu night time mission, at least he hadn't had to kill it. That would have been messy. He opened the door wide, preparing to shove it forcibly out when the giant bird turned on him and snatched a chunk of his long silver hair in it's beak and yanked it hard enough to tear some out.

"Oww that hurt!" Sephiroth's hand whipped out to snap the birds neck in revenge when he found himself stumbling through the doorway and out into a busy street.

He was standing barefoot, wearing only a thin pair of black cotton sleep pants on a freezing cold cobble stoned street and blinked with disorientation because directly outside his apartment for as long as he'd lived there was a plush Shinra hallway. Not a snowy, busy street.

Sephiroth looked around dazedly and saw that he was standing in a town square. Christmas music wafted from somewhere and merry laughter came from every where. Happy children ran around and ice skated in the center section of the square while adults, laden with packages and bags scurried past and even through him. He shivered violently as an icy wind blew over him, lifting his hair and tossing it in his face.

He had a moment to wonder at the incongruity of it. If people could pass through him and not seem to notice that there was a half naked albino giant standing in their midst then how come he was freezing his ass off and feeling hail and snow digging into his skin?

He gave the golden chocobo a dirty look. It was unaffected by the weather, as it looked both warm and dry as though it was existing in it's very own bubble of balmy temperature.

"Where are we?" He asked. The town looked familiar. Not Midgar which was where he should have been but someplace that was far away.

"Wark!"

Sephiroth gave the animal another dirty look. He hadn't expected an answer but the dumb bird seemed to understand him anyway. It motioned toward a hilltop with its head.

"Nebelheim?" Sephiroth said when he noticed the dark mansion looming on the hill. It was the Shinra mansion. He recognized it from pictures he'd recently viewed from the Nebelheim file. He had thought the place looked familiar.

"Why are we here?"

"Wark." It said happily.

Sephiroth shook his head in frustration. He truly hadn't expected an answer but still if he had to be haunted, why did it have to be by a stupid bird? Hmmm?

Before he could ask it that question the golden chocobo took off at a fast lope towards the mansion and after a moment which Sephiroth bemusedly watched it go he remembered that he was out in the middle of nowhere, supposedly in his past, invisible yet susceptible to the cold. He decided that it would not be advantageous for him to lose his bird brained guide.

"Halt!" He commanded the fleeing bird.

"Chocobo, stop right there!" But it continued to go without him and as Sephiroth watched it turned the corner and was gone from sight.

"Damn it, wait!!" He cried and took off after it.

He ran after it fast and he had super SOLDIER speed which in real life meant that he could outrace any chocobo but not this one. This one always stayed just ahead of him even as Sephiroth ran faster and faster, digging into reserves he'd never had to tap into, at least not since his days as Hojo's prized test subject that was.

The landscape became a blur as he raced up the hill, noticing he was going so fast that if he didn't stop he was going to run right into or through the building when he found himself already inside. He slid to a screeching stop, his bare feet sliding across the hardwood floor and glared at the Golden Chocobo who was happily fluffing it's feathers.

"Stupid bird brain what was the point of that?" He bitched as he shook the snow out of his hair and brushed it off his skin.

"Chirrup!" The chocobo chirped as it motioned with it's head.

Sephiroth followed the bird's gaze and saw that he was inside a room on the top floor of the mansion. He recognized it as his childhood room. He hadn't thought of this place in years but being there brought it all back.

The room was plain, neat to the point of looking uninhabited except for a small live Christmas tree set up on a small child's desk. The tree was festively decorated with candy canes and post it notes folded into neon colored origami shapes. Some unwrapped toys lay under it. A box of crayons, a coloring book and a fluffy white teddy bear. Sephiroth saw a small white haired child standing at the window, looking out wistfully at the holiday scene outside. He had a large silver handled hunting knife with a six inch blade in his hands that he was using to dig into the wood on the window sill.

Sephiroth recognized himself and he vividly remembered that day.

"How are you doing this? Sephiroth asked, his voice unintentionally coming out hushed.

"wark"

"Shut up." He responded, annoyed at both the bird and himself for continuing to ask it questions it couldn't answer. The light coming through the window was cold and it washed over his younger self harshly, making his hair and skin a stark white. The only color to him were his eyes, up turned at the corners and unnaturally glowing pale green, the pupils a narrow black slit. Sephiroth saw himself as he knew others saw him, bloodless and alien.

He shook the thought away, crossing his arms across his chest. What did he care what others thought? He was in a position now that he told others what to think.

He stepped closer to the window and followed the child's gaze down. He knew what the child was looking at before he saw him. Professor Ghast on his way out of town on a family emergency. Sephiroth remembered him well. Professor Ghast had been a genius. He had always been there with his notes and books and tests, his mind always focused on work. But Sephiroth had loved him as a child because Ghast had always been gentle and kind and gave him sweets or praise after every test.

"I never saw him again." Sephiroth said as the chocobo nudged his arm sympathetically, warbling lowly in his throat. From behind him came the sound of the door opening. Sephiroth turned to see a slight white coated man in the door way. It was Professor Hojo looking very young and very thin. There was a greedy look in the mans eye's when he looked at young Sephiroth.

"Come Sephiroth, I need you in the lab."

The child turned from the window, looking like a chibi version of the man he would one day become. His cheeks were softly rounded and his eyes were too big for his face. He pouted at Professor Hojo and crossed his arms across his chest defiantly.

"No. Professor Ghast said no work today."

"No? What foolishness is this Sephiroth." Hojo said, as he looked around the room, focusing mainly on the small Christmas tree.

"He said that today was Christmas so I don't have to go to the lab."

"And what would you do with yourself today? Play?" Hojo said with disapproval, crossing the room to the window where he towered over the child.

Sephiroth nodded up at him, unsurely.

"I see, and those children outside. Would you rather be out there running around with them?"

Sephiroth said nothing but looked less sure.

"What do you want to be when you grow up Sephiroth?" Professor Hojo said conversationally as he turned away and started pacing the room.

"A great warrior."

"I see. And what does a great warrior do?"

"He fights and protects because he is big and strong."

"Those children out there, do you think any of them will be great warriors?"

"Maybe?"

"No they wont. Look at them. See how weak they are? How undisciplined and fat. If a Nibel Wolf were to come out of the forest now what do you think would happen to them?"

"They'd get eaten."

"If a Nibel Wolf were to attack you now?"

"I'd kill it."

"How?"

Sephiroth looked down at the blade he was holding, his thumb running across the knife's edge as though testing it for sharpness. It was one of his jobs to keep his equipment in top form so it was razor sharp.

"I'd go for the eyes first and then I would slice it's throat."

"Like you did last week?"

Sephiroth nodded his head vigorously.

"That's a good boy. You can't afford to waste your time. You must continue to train, study and have the Mako treatments."

"I don't lilke Mako. It hurts." He said eyes filling up with tears.

"Control yourself Sephiroth, warriors don't cry! Do they?"

"No." Sephiroth looked up at him with wide cat like eyes as Hojo paced around his room.

"This candy will make you fat." He said sternly, picking the candy canes from the tree and dropping them in the trash.

"These toys he said picking up the crayons and the stuffed bear, will make you soft and undisciplined and if your out there playing, then you wont be training and that will make you weak. Then you wouldn't be a great warrior, ever. If a dragon were to come out of the woods, you would get eaten. How much do you think that would hurt?"

"A lot?"

"Yes it would hurt very, very much. Worse than the Mako, which is good for you and will make you grow big and strong, so that you can become a mighty warrior. But you have to make up your mind Sephiroth. You can be weak or you can be strong. It's one or the other. You cannot have both. So what do you want to be?"

"A warrior."

"Just a warrior?"

"I want to be the best warrior. I want to fight and I want to protect."

"Very good. You can't afford to waste your time. You have to discipline yourself. Do things you don't want to do or aren't fun. You have to focus your mind on one thing. It's the only way. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, now we've wasted enough time. What have you learned?"

"No toys or candy or playing. I must be disciplined and work hard so that I can one day I will become a great warrior."

"Thats right. Let's go now." He said, striding toward the door. Sephiroth sheathed his knife and without a backward glance at the window, silently followed.

"Well this was fun." Sephiroth snarked.

"Wark." Said the chocobo as it danced backward obviously ready to lead him someplace else.

"No, I want to go back to my apartment."

"Wark!" The chocobo snatched at his hair and as Sephiroth went to smack it he found himself in Shinra.

It was Christmas break that much was obvious by the mad melee going on cadets of every size and color were dashing out with duffel bags and suitcases. Parents and loved ones met them outside the gates.

"Fuck." Sephiroth said glowering, his arms folded across his bare chest. "When I said I wanted to go back I meant back to my apartment and my bed not here."

"WARK!"

"Shut up." Sephiroth growled as he took notice of the cadets moving around him.

"Hmmm, that's Mcmullin." He said as he studied a red haired teenager that was passing by. The kid was tall, with a powerful looking build. He looked to be full of life and excitement as he hauled a heavy looking duffel bag over his shoulder. As Sephiroth and the chocobo watched, the kid joined with a group of friends. All of them laughing and happy and looking forward to the holiday vacation.

"He died in the war." Sephiroth said and he looked around, suddenly recognizing more and more of the cadets.

"There's Jacobs, he specialized in communications. Went Missing In Action in Wutai. And that's Davidson, he suffered Mako poisoning. He never even got to Wutai."

The chocobo stood there and stared at him inquistively but Sephiroth ignored him.

"God there where so many of them. I remember all these kids. So many of them died."

"Chirrup." The chocobo chirped and grabbed hold of some of his hair and gently tugged.

Sephiroth wanted to refuse but the decision was taken out of his hands as he found himself moving through the Shinra corridors until he found himself in an empty training room. He saw himself there at twelve or thirteen. He was tall and lanky, his hair tied back as he practiced katas. His sword moved with a deathly swiftness and grace, effortlessly cutting through the air. The only sound was its whistling passes and Sephiroth's controlled breathing. His young body was coated with sweat, his silver white hair stringy with it as his muscles strained with effort. He looked exhausted but utterly focused as he finished one kata and moved onto another in quick succession.

The chocobo nudged him.

Sephiroth didn't speak as he was brought down into the bowels of the Shinra science facility. There in the most high clearance area that few knew about he found himself walking down a brightly lit hallway, passing by countless locked doors.

Sephiroth saw a teenaged version himself unlock a door with a stolen key card. He was wearing a brand new looking SOLDIER uniform.

"I remember this!" Sephiroth said as he pushed past it and led the way.

"WARK!" The chocobo squawked.

"Shhhh, I want to hear this."

Inside the room a girl sat quietly on a cot. She was pale as death with dark rings under her eyes, obviously sick with Mako poisoning and whatever else Hojo had done to her. Despite how ill she had to be feeling she smiled brightly when she saw teenage Sephiroth.

"Sephiroth, you came."

"Aeris?" He said, closing the door behind him. "You look terrible."

Faint color filled her cheeks and she lifted a thin hand to smooth down her hair.

"Well you know, I've been sick."

"Yes I see that, but I still think your pretty." He said clumsily causing her to giggle at him. He turned away. A hint of color staining his cheeks.

"You look nice too." She said. "I like your uniform."

"Yeah?" He perked up, faceing her proudly. "I made it into SOLDIER."

"Like there was any doubt?" She grinned and he smiled at her.

"I'm shipping out to Wutai tomorrow." He said standing tall but his enthusiasm was checked when he saw her face fall with disapointment.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes, but I have good news for you." He added quickly. "I'm getting you out."

"You are? How?"

"Never mind. I just...I can't leave you to Hojo. So I found a place for you under the Plate. It's the slums but you will be safe from Shinra there."

"Your getting me out of here?" She said, tears filling her eyes.

"Hey! Don't cry! Don't tell me you want to stay here."

"No! I'm crying because I'm happy. Relieved. I just never thought I'd ever leave this place. But what if we get caught?"

"We wont." He said with confidence. "Shinra is going to suffer a black out in a couple of minutes. They'll think lightning hit a transformer and that a monster got loose in the generator. But we better get moving. Can you walk?"

"Of course I can." She said pulling herself shakily to her feet. Smiling at him to show him that yes, she was perfectly fine.

"We need to hurry, OK?"

"Wait. I want to give you something." She said reaching for a slender gold chain at her neck that held a little gold locket.

"Aeris I can't take that." He said.

"You have to. To remember me by."

"I'll never forget you." He said, smiling at her fondly. But she was determined, making him bend down so that she could clasp it around his neck.

"It means that no matter what happens we will always be friends."

Sephiroth nodded and from his belt unclasped a sheathed hunting knife with a six inch razor sharp blade.

"Then take this to remember me by. It was my first weapon. Keep it sharp and don't cut yourself."

"I'll take good care of it." She promised, clutching it to her breast, her clear green eyes glowing slightly.

"Let's go now." He urged just as the lights flickered and the entire Shinra building went dark.

...

"I never saw her again." Sephiroth said. "Did she make it?"

"Wark." The chocobo said and nudged him.

"Not again." Sephiroth sighed.

This time it was to war torn Wutai. It could have been any time of year, Sephiroth thought as he watched himself walk tiredly over and through the fallen bodies. The smell of blood was thick in the air and the sky looked like it was on fire. Explosions shook the land and from everywhere monsters and warriors fought.

He was sixteen and in that moment he didn't know that he was going to win the war for Shinra. Or that he was going to be the Hero that he had worked so hard to become. This particular battle was the turning point, but he didn't know it then. What he did know was that he hadn't slept in three days and that too many of his men had been wounded or killed. And that he was walking through their fallen bodies, trying not to step on them.

He was covered in gore, exhausted and he had just noticed that he had lost Aerith's necklace. He was futilely searching through the bodies, not caring that he was being called to for back up and that the sirens were blaring another imminent attack. Right then he was feeling frantic and out of control, trying to backtrack to where he might have lost it and knowing it was hopeless when a growl like thunder filled the air and a shadow dark as night covered him. He looked up and saw a monster from his nightmares. It seemed to rise up from the dirt and was bigger and more vicious than anything he had ever seen before. With a determined look he unsheathed the Mesamune and lept at it.

The scene cleared and Sephiroth found himself back in the quiet sterility of his apartment. He rubbed his eyes tiredly with his hand. "I promised that I would take care of it for her and I lost it." Sephiroth said to the chocobo. He looked over to see that he was alone.

"Well that was fun." He sighed, vowing to be more careful when eating leftovers. This was the worst and most vivid dream he'd ever had. And the really bad thing, the thing that disturbed him the most was that he felt like he was still in it.


	4. Chapter 4

Sephiroth woke to the smell of baking cookies and knew that he had to be dreaming, since the warm scent of anything baking had never permeated his apartment before. After the two vivid hallucinations/dreams the food poisoning had caused, he had to wonder if perhaps he wasn't taking a sudden turn for the worse.

He rubbed tiredly at his eyes and checked the time. It was 1:00 am. For a dream he was hardly getting any sleep at all. At this rate he was going to be in a sleep deprived bad mood for his Nebelheim mission which would probably leave him more short tempered than usual.

He wondered if it was possible to go back to sleep if you were caught in a dream but the scent of cookies was troubling him more and more. He knew that he couldn't just lay there wondering about the phantom scent, he had to investigate. It's what a SOLDIER did. A lifetime of training couldn't be ignored just because he was feeling comfy in his warm bed.

Sighing deeply, he got out of bed and went to investigate. He walked across his bedroom, shivering at the cold hard floor, opened the door...

And was assaulted with the the brilliant glare of a million twinkling Christmas lights. He hissed as he took an involuntary step back and covered his eyes with his hand. It was so bright that if light had a sound, then the room would have been screaming. Cautiously and through slitted, tearing eyes he looked around.

There were blinking Christmas lights everywhere. His living room, which by all rights should have contained a couch, a coffee table and a TV was crammed with furniture. There were several overstuffed, comfortable looking couches and chairs set up in cozy conversational seating areas. Some of them covered in crisp white doilies . A huge fire hazard of a Christmas tree filled an entire corner, it was ablaze with a thousand tiny flickering candles. Shiny ornaments of every color covered it, taking in all the light in the room and reflecting it to the millionth power.

Sephiroth was left breathless at the sight. He had a brief irrational hope that he was in the wrong apartment. Any moment now he would be found by the rightful home owners, standing there half naked like a perverted long haired prowler. He looked back to his bedroom...and yes it was his bedroom. There was his bed and there was his broken TV with the dagger sticking out through the screen.

He reminded himself that he was dreaming. It was just a dream.

'How nice.' He thought, sorely tempted to go back to bed and ignore the nonsense. But for some reason he couldn't. The smell of cookies was drawing him to the kitchen where he sensed movement.

He stepped from the known safety of his room and crossed the living room. He moved especially silently, noticing for the first time the plush rug that warmed his feet and hugged his toes. He went to the wall where he had Masamune. Cursing silently at the depravity of his imagination, he brushed tinsel from it and unsheathed it. It was too large to wield inside, but he felt the need to create some mayhem. Since it was only a dream, there really would be no harm done.

He knew that he probally couldn't kill a ghost but maybe he could give it a scare and make it to go away. With that in mind he kept the Mesamune drawn before him as he slipped soundlessly into the kitchen.

There he saw slight dark haired woman taking a batch of cookies from the oven.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my kitchen." He demanded, his booming voice shattering the silence.

Sephiroth was used to getting a certain reaction from people at first meeting. His notorious reputation as the Conqueror of Wutai went before him and he was met with awe and fear from everyone. In that order. But as he towered over the small female she only gifted him with a sweet smile that quickly turned into a frown.

"Sephiroth, put that toy down before you break something."

He gave her his fiercest glare, the one that he had patented and honed in Wutai. Just the sight of his steely eyed gaze had caused the enemy to drop their swords and flee for the hills. The Mesamume , sacred weapon of the ancients, declared to be a toy? It was outrageous! It was an insult that he could not ignore. He would teach this spirit a lesson in respect!

"You dare-!" He shouted.

"Oh hush up and eat a cookie." She said with irritation, batting aside the hallowed blade with her tiny hand and cramming a cookie in his mouth.

"Mmrrffr." He said angry enough to pop a blood vessel. She had the audacity, the nerve!...but before he could spit it out, he tasted it and couldn't help but chew and savor it. It was a very good cookie. Seriously good. The best cookie he had ever tasted in his life. It was still warm from the oven, the chocolate chips were melted and smooth like velvet on his tongue. Sweet, but not too sweet. It was impossible to eat just one.

"Sit" She said, grabbing his arm and propelling him to a kitchen table and chair that had never before existed in his apartment. On it was a big plate of cookies and a tall frosty glass of milk. He set down the Mesamune and greedily pulled the plate towards himself.

"Who are you again?" He asked as he bit into another cookie.

"I am the Spirit of Christmas Present." She answered.

Sephiroth studied her, taking in the brown hair with strange cowlicky bangs that rose up too high on her head and framed her face. Her features were delicate. Her face was narrow and her up tilted eyes were light green. She looked very familiar, as though he had seen her somewhere before. But though he wracked his brain, he couldn't place her.

"Why do you look so familiar?"

"Do I?" She said and joy and quick tears lept in her eyes "I didn't think you'd know me."

"I don't." He grumbled.

The joy faded away leaving only the tears.

"But of course you wouldn't remember me." She said sadly. "But I know you Sephiroth. I've been with you and watched over you since the day you were born. And it just breaks my heart to see what you've become."

"What are you talking about? I'm the General of the Shinra Army. The only position more important on the Planet is that of the President."

"Oh don't get me wrong. I'm very proud of your accomplishments. I know that they didn't come easy."

"Damn straight they didn't."

"I'm talking about your personal life."

"What personal life?" He quirked an eyebrow at her and she quirked one back.

"Exactly. I mean here you are 29 years old and not even a girlfriend." She shook her head at him.

"Who are you my mother?" He snapped sarcastically.

"I told you who I am. I'm the Spirit of..."

"Yeah, yeah Christmas Present. I get it. So how is it in your job description to nag me hmm? For your information rising up through the ranks to achieve the position of General at my age hasn't exactly left a lot of time for socializing."

"And whose fault is that?" She said crossing her arms across her chest. "It wouldn't kill you to spend some time with your friends."

"I say it was worth it." He responded crossing is arms across his chest. "And I see plenty of them at work."

"It isn't all about work Sephiroth." She sighed, as though realizing for the first time that she really had her work cut out for her. "But that's what I'm here to help you with. To show you that there's more to life than work."

"Like what?"

"Like fun and parties and spending time with close friends."

"That is a frivolous and total waste of time." He declared.

"Your very wrong about that and that's what I'm here to show you." She said. "But we don't have all night. We have to go now."

"I'd rather not." He huffed.

"Fortunately you don't have a choice. Put on this scarf it might be cold out." She said throwing a long yellow and black striped scarf across his shoulders and wrapping it around his neck.

"Stop fidgeting." She said as she tied a fat knot in it so that it wouldn't come loose.

Sephiroth wanted to smack her away but although he was known to be the Nightmare...he wasn't a bully and couldn't attack a tiny woman especially one that fed him cookies. And anyway it was only a dream so his dignity wasn't really being hurt.

"And a hat!" She said holding a yellow and black striped hat complete with a pompom.

Sephiroth put his foot down.

"No way."

"I knitted this myself." She said, her eyes wide and filled with hope. "I made it with Love!"

"No, just no." He scowled standing to his full height of six foot one She would have to stand on a chair to reach his head.

"Ungrateful." She muttered.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing but it's time to go."

...

Sephiroth found himself in a brightly lit training room. He was pretty sure it was the same one that he'd trained in alone that long ago Christmas Eve but he didn't find a younger version of himself in there, he found a small blond haired cadet practicing katanas.

He knew this cadet. Zack, as well as some of the instructors had repeatedly brought him to his attention, otherwise Sephiroth would never have noticed Cloud Strife. The kid was too short and skinny to ever make SOLDIER. At first he'd dismissed him, so sure that this one would only go as far as the general army but Strife proved to be persistent and despite all odds was still within the program. And by all accounts was doing very well.

Normally Sephiroth was too busy to take the time to check the beginners but now that he was standing there he could see why so many people had recommended the boy. Here it was Christmas Eve, everyone was off duty and partying and yet he was hard at work training. His weapon was a modified Buster sword, made for confined areas and he used it with skill and fluidity. Sephiroth could clearly see that the kid had great potential.

"It's good to see someone so dedicated." He said.

"He admires you." The spirit said. "His goal is to become like you."

Sephiroth smiled at that, understanding that the kid suffered from hero worship. It wasn't the first time he'd encountered it and it wouldn't be the last. He started to say something along those lines but was interrupted by the sight of Zack entering the room.

"There's Zack right on cue." He groaned. "It's like he's got a mission to stop people from working."

"Zack's your friend. You should be kinder and more tolerant."

"Any more tolerant and he'd probably level the building." Sephiroth snarked.

"Give him some credit." Said the ghost.

"I do. He's my best SOLDIER. That's why I put up with him."

"That's not what friendship is about. I wonder how he 'puts up' with you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Earlier tonight when he came to your office what did you say to him?"

"To go away. I always tell him that. Not that he ever listens. If he wasn't one of the best SOLDIER I would ship him off to Icicle base."

"That's exactly what I mean."

"What?"

"Cloud!" Zack cried. "Come on, it's party time."

"See?" Sephiroth said, content in the knowledge that Zack had just proven his point.

"Shhh! Pay attention now." Said the Spirit.

"Zack, spar with me. I've got a new move." Cloud said, spinning the buster sword in his hand.

"New move, huh?" Zack said and pulled out his own buster sword.

They sparred briefly and Zack held back but not as much as Sephiroth would have thought he would have to. The kid was stronger then he looked and was fast. Very fast.

"Hey, your getting real good." Zack said as he blocked a blow and found himself on the defensive. Cloud kept coming at him striking blow after blow until Zack used some fast foot work to trip and disarm him.

"You cheated!" Cloud yelled at him from where he lay on the floor.

"Is that what your gonna tell the enemy?" Zack answered with glee.

"No, but I wouldn't have gone as easy on the enemy."

At that Zack burst out laughing and helped Cloud to his feet. "That's the spirit, but come on it's getting late and we have places to be."

"Shouldn't we hit the sack early. There's that mission tomorrow."

"Are you mad? There will be plenty of time for sleep on the trip. It will take more than a day to arrive in Nebelheim, but you know that right?"

"Yeah." Cloud answered with a strange look on his face, as though he were remembering an unpleasant memory.

Sephiroth turned his attention to the Spirit.

"You can see into the future, right? Does he make it into SOLDIER?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"I wound't have asked if I didn't." He snarked and she huffed at him.

"For you information. No he does not."

"Hmmm." Sephiroth said and he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. The kid had obvious potential and heart. "Not strong enough, huh? A shame."

"Mako will make anyone strong enough." She said. "You can see how good he is. No, there are some events that are unfolding and... well it can be prevented by you."

"By me? You mean show favoritism. This army is built on merit not connections. If he can't get in himself then that's not my fault!"

"Oh hush, you aren't ready to listen to anything I have to say yet. Watch."

...

He found himself in the mess hall. Sephiroth felt a little disconcerted to find himself there in his night clothes but as before no one seemed to notice him.

The hall was festively transformed in shiny red, green and silver and foil. Upbeat Christmas music blared from the speakers.

Every SOLDIER currently stationed at the headquarters was there as well as most of the Turks.

"Are these your friends?" The ghost of Christmas Present asked and Sephiroth snorted.

"Most of them work for me the rest are Turks."

"So you share a camaraderie."

"The only thing we all have in common is that we all work for Shinra." He said shortly. He wanted to tell her that there was a world of difference between himself and these people and it didn't matter what department they worked for. He was just too fundamentally different from them and always had been.

"These people are your friends. The only one setting himself apart is you, Sephiroth."

"You don't know what your talking about." He told her.

Before she could reply Zack and Cloud entered the room. A mighty cheer immediately rocked the hall and several SOLDIERS jogged up to them.

"Where's the General?" One of them asked.

"Um, he couldn't make it. He's still working." Said Zack.

"Zack, you couldn't pull him away? Come on man, it's Christmas Eve!"

"Yeah, I know but you try telling him that."

"Did you talk to him about postponing the mission?"

"Yeah."

"...and?"

"We're shipping out first thing."

sigh... "I guess I better call my wife. Tell her not to expect me on Christmas morning."

"Hey, cheer up." Zack said slapping him on the shoulder.

"Nah, it's ok if Sephiroth says it's important it is. I'm just gonna give her a call and wish her and the kids a Merry Christmas."

"That's the spirit!" Zack said.

"See?" The Spirit said with a smug look on her face.

"Their a loyal lot." Sephiroth nodded. "They have to be. They have dangerous jobs. They have been well trained. They understand the importance of teamwork and trust. Lives depend on it."

"Do you never stop? I tell you that your men care and respect you and you turn it into a job description. Lighten up. This is a party."

"Lighten up? Clearly you don't know who you are speaking too." He scowled.

"I believe I know exactly who I'm speaking to and you obviously need more help then even I thought possible."

He had several rude things he wanted to tell her, but then decided that it probably wasn't worth the effort..

"It's just a dream. Only a dream." He told himself mantra like, as he felt a headache coming on. Soon he would wake up and it would all be over.

"Just a dream?" She asked and pinched him hard.

"Ow!" He cried.

"If it's just a dream then why don't you wake up!" She said and smacked his arm for good measure. "I'll tell you why, because you can't. Although you've never experienced anything like this, it's still real. It's happening right now. Just like this party is happening right now and still you refuse to acknowledge that these people love and admire you. I think you are stupid and selfish for disregarding them."

"I don't...I'm not... All right fine what do I have to do?"

"Just relax Sephiroth and try to enjoy yourself. This is a party and these are your people."

"Fine I will try." He said and followed after Zack and Cloud to a table that held a large silver bowl of flaming punch. Zack scooped some into a plastic cup and blew it out fast befor the cup could melt. Then stood aside and watched as Cloud tried to do the same.

"You know I invented that punch." Sephiroth said to the Spirit in an attempt at light party conversation.

"Really?"

"Yes. After the last battle that won us the war, we found a storehouse filled with barrels of rum in the Imperial palace. Good stuff, high proof. So to celebrate Wutai's complete and utter defeat we emptied a few of barrels into this large bronze ceremonial shield that had symbolically protected the palace for hundreds of years."

"Hmm." Said the Spirit. "That's nice?"

"Yes." Sephiroth acknowledged, a fond look of reminiscence in his eyes. "Then Zack did something- I forget what- but he pissed me off and I accidentally set fire to it. That's how the flames part happened. Unfortunately the fire quickly went out of control and the palace as well as most of the capital city burnt to the ground."

"Oh my..."

"Mmm, my thoughts exactly. So anytime a bunch of SOLDIERS get together for a party someone always brings some rum and sets it on fire. It's called Wutai in Flames."

"That's a very... uh...Oh look I wonder what they're doing now." She said and tugged Sephiroth after Zack and Cloud to where several SOLDIERS and Turks were playing cards and were huddled around a laptop. On it was a live-feed of a lab. On it Hojo was examining slides and taking notes, every so often he squirted some liquid or other onto it and frowned.

"What's he doing?" Zack asked and Sephiroth bent closer to see.

"Probably mutating something. Who the hell knows." Reno shrugged. "But check this out."

He typed something fast into the keyboard and in the lab the phone rang. Hojo cursed as he fished out his cell phone answered it. "Yes Mr President." Hojo said and a loud feedback shriek of a fax machine filled the air. Hojo jumped and cursed then hung up the phone, muttering some very unscientific words under his breath.

Zack grinned at Reno.

"How did you do that?"

"That is a secret I'm taking to my grave yo but check it out, I've got the entire lab tweaked."

He rapidly typed something else down and a barely perceptible whine was heard. Then every single lab animal in the room went crazy. Barking, meowing, screaming and hooting. Hojo lept to his feet in exasperation and stalked over to the cages. Searching around for what ever their problem was.

"That is so awesome." Zack said in a reverent tone. Beside him, Sephiroth nodded in speechless agreement.

"Oh yeah we've been doing it for hours. Eventually he settles down again and tries to get back to work, but tonight he ain't getting nothing done. It's My Christmas present to Seph."

"Annoying the shit out of Hojo is your present?"

"Yeah and there's more! The pièce de résistance is a double whammy of setting the high pitched sound effect and unlocking all of the cages. Dude when I do that, his whole lab is gonna be demolished yo. Demolished!"

Zack stared at him in speechless wonder.

"Remind me not to piss you off Reno."

"No joke, yo. Where's Sephiroth anyway?" Reno agreed and settled back into his card game with Rude.

"Working."

"Huh, figures." He said shaking his head.

Sephiroth found himself grinning evilly at the Spirit.

"I wouldn't mind trying that." He said and she gave him a conspirative look.

"You wouldn't huh?" She said and bent down and pressed a couple of buttons.

On screen a tiny Hojo looked up from his lab bench as the sound of a hundred clicks filled the air and every cage in the lab unlocked. A quiet second passed as Hojo half rose from his seat, looking confused. Then a high pitched whine filled the air and every single lab animal went wild. Mayhem ensued as everything that had once been locked up jumped, hopped and ran out, swarming the room. Hojo, in blind panic jumped onto his worktable and as some of the animals jumped with him, he began leaping for the water pipes high above. Over the cries of a hundred freed animals you could hear him, his voice a high pitched and girl like, screaming breathlessly and repeatedly for Security.

Those watching the computer screen were transfixed. Their mouths hanging open. Then as one, as if on cue, burst into helpless hysterical laughter. They were laughing so hard that they had to hold on to each other to keep from falling. Others became so undone that they were on the floor, rolling around helplessly as they pictured Hojo, jumping and leaping and high pitched screaming. Sephiroth was nearly on his knees, he was laughing so hard. He looked up at the Spirit of Christmas Present, trying to catch his breath. He caught her eye and cried, "Security!" and then he was gone again laughing so hard that he could no longer stand up.

Some time later, Sephiroth picked himself up from the floor, wiping the tears from his eyes.

"God that was funny. My stomach hurts."

"It was good to see you laugh." The spirit said smiling at him with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Um, yeah." He said, distracted by trying to see what Hojo was doing now.

"Come now." She said. "It's time to go."

"What? No wait. Look Security just arrived." He said, giggling helplessly as he saw that Hojo had managed to grab hold of one of the water pipes.

...

Sephiroth found himself in a warm homey looking kitchen that was filled with the delicious scent of food cooking. The room was cluttered with decorations and cooking apparatus and on the window sill under a bright light grew a riotous profusion of flowers.

"About time you guys. I was just about to start eating without you." Came a female voice and Sephiroth noticed the girl for the first time. She had green eyes and deep mahogony hair the likes of which he hadn't seen in years.

"Aeris." He said, her name slipping out unintentionally.

"Yes." The Spirit answered. "She's that nice girl you saved-"

"Shhh." He hissed. "I want to hear this."

Aeris had matured from a sickly looking girl to a beautiful woman, all soft curves and sweet smiles and Sephiroth's heart ached to see her. So she hadn't died or been captured. He had hoped for the best and had given her every chance he could but had felt that she hadn't stood a chance without his protection. It had killed him to let her go that day, knowing that he would probably never see her again. But he had known that Shinra would never have let him slip away so easily. The reality was that she had been safer with him far away.

He'd been willing to sacrifice everything for her and it contented him to see that she was alive and happy. Whatever hardships she had lived through hadn't marked her irreparably. That was one of the things that he'd admired about her. How she'd remained unaffected by all that life had delt her and had remained innocent.

Zack was hugging her now, swinging her around in a circle and the kitchen was suddenly filled with their laughter, even Cloud though he stood back shyly.

"Aeris is his girl." Sephiroth said, remembering all the times Zack had come into his office flushed and happy and trying to tell him his latest exploits. Sephiroth had listened long enough to know that Zack had a girlfriend but it had never occurred to him to ask her name.

"Yes." The spirit said. "They're very much in love."

Sephiroth nodded.

"I'm happy for them." He said quietly.

"Are you really?"

"Yes, of course. What's their future? Do they get married? Have children?"

The spirit shrugged. "Their future is unwritten."

"Meaning you don't know or you don't want to tell me?"

"Both. As things stand, anything could happen."

"Hmm." He considered as he watched them pull a red faced Cloud into a three way hug.

"Where's Sephiroth?" Aeris finally asked after everyone had been thoroughly hugged.

"He couldn't make it. He had too much work to do." Zack said.

"That's ok." Aeris said trying to hide her disappointment. "You'll bring him back a plate won't you?" And she busied herself at the counter grabbing plates and silverware.

Zack gave her a long look.

"You really wanted to meet him, huh?" Zack said.

"Of course I did silly. He's a hero and he works too hard. Even working on Christmas Eve! What's he doing tomorrow?"

"More of the same, we're all shipping out on a mission first thing in the morning."

"Oh!"

"Hey it's work..."

"But it's Christmas!"

Zack sighed.

"I know but so what, we're together now right?" He said grabbing Cloud in a one armed hug and squeezing hard. "We're blessed right?"

"Yes!" Cloud cried as Zack grabbed Aeris in his other arm and squeezed her too.

"We're blessed, right?" He asked her.

"Yes!" She agreed laughing as she watched Cloud struggle and turn red.

"Say it! Someone needs to say it!" Zack cried as started jostleing them around the room.

"Alright! We're blessed, each and everyone of us!" Cloud gasped finally breaking free and smacking Zack upside the head.

Sephiroth smiled at their antics but felt terrible regret as he watched them. He now fully realized the error of his ways and would have dropped everything if he had known that she waited for him. In fact after this night and the lessons he had learned he wished he could hit a replay button. He would have loved to have attended the SOLDIER Christmas party, and he would have loved to be in this room with Aeris and Zack and Cloud. What he had chosen to do, work late and go to bed early had been a tragic mistake. And how many times in his life had he repeated that mistake? Too often, but never again. Never before had he realized what he had been giving up. From now on he vowed to cut back a little bit on the work and spend a little more time with friends.

.....

Note: Hey thanks for reading. Sorry this took so long to update but this chapter wanted to go on forever. Next chapter should be quicker (-shivers- Christmas Future). P.S. I've got a fresh baked cookie for anyone who knows the identity of the Spirit of Christmas Present.


	5. Chapter 5

Sephiroth found himself back in his apartment as it had always been, practically bare of decorations and furniture. He'd never given a thought to his interior decoration before, preferring to have only what was necessary but now he saw how lacking it was. How cold. It reminded him suddenly of Hojo's lab. It had the same practical utility.

He vowed that come the dawn of day he would correct this lack. He no longer wanted to live a bare existance. He wanted something more. He would endevor to make his apartment less sterile and more ... homey. He would fill it with furniture, whether he needed them or not, and carpeting because sometimes the floors got cold and maybe he'd get a plant.

Probably he could hire someone to decorate for him. He'd ask his secretary when he saw her the day after Christmas, because if he learned nothing else tonight, he'd learned that Christmas needed to be celebrated and enjoyed. He'd been wrong to ignore it and to treat it and the people in his life so lightly.

What he wouldn't give to be in Aeris's warm kitchen right now instead of alone in his apartment, he thought to himself and then shivered, noticing a drop in the room's temperature. The change was too sudden to have any reasonable explanation. It was like he had stepped into an ice box. It was so cold that he could see his breath pluming from his mouth in a white vapor.

Suddenly he didn't feel alone. Sephiroth turned in place, seeing and hearing nothing at first and then he did. A large dark shape was gathering together before him. Solidifying into something physical even as he watched. The impossibility of something like that happening didn't even enter his mind. After everything that had happened to him so far, he was very well aware that anything was possible. And he knew that he had one more ghost to face. The Ghost of Christmas Future.

It slowly coalesced into a large shape that towered over him, female in form. But not human and not like any monster he'd ever encountered before.

'Alien' the thought raced through his mind. He instinctively knew that nothing like this had any reason to be on the Planet. That it was in fact an enemy of all living things.

He gazed up and up into the void of her black eyes, eyes that sucked everything in and gave nothing back. It sent a chill through him that settled in his bones and he felt that he would never be warm again. He felt her presence pull at him, drawing him out of himself and he took a step back, shaking his head as though to clear it.

This was Christmas Future then, and she was a foe. The other spirits had tried to help him but this one meant him harm. He was acutely aware that he stood before her unarmed and that left him feeling oddly helpless. It was a feeling that he had little experience with, but somehow he knew that there was no weapon that could help him now. Still, he would not fall to her. He would remain strong and determined especially in the face of this adversary.

"Your presence here is not required." He said, his voice as powerful and confident as it had ever been. "I have seen the error of my ways and I will endeavor to right all wrongs. So go now. Leave me."

A low buzzing sound filled his head, growing louder and harsher, making it hard for him to think. He realized that the buzzing was an alien language, and that he understood it.

"Mother?" He said, shaking his head again to try and clear his mind. "No. You're one of the spirits. You're Christmas Future." He told her and took another step back as she approached, her form a swirling darkness. He tried to think of some way to fight her, but the noise in his head was so loud and all consuming that he couldn't think. She he was pulling at him drawing him toward her like a magnet. He felt hypnotised, helpless as she swarmed up over and around him, swallowing him in moving darkness.

Nebelheim.

The village was in flames and death surrounded him. Sephiroth stood before a broken mako tank that held a headless body. He held the head was in his hand, tendrils of Mako slimed hair was twisted in his fingers and he felt her power fill him. Thrumming though him. Her power was erotic and made him feel invincible. Godlike.

Mother had taken over his mind and body and informed him that he was responsible for the carnage in the village but he didn't know why he would do such a thing. He was made to understand that he had freed Mother and as he felt the seduction of her power he knew that this was the moment that changed everything. Mother was free. Her laughter surrounded him on all sides and maddened him. Sephiroth felt like he had become insane.

"No. This is all wrong." He told himself before her voice grew louder, oblitering his thoughts and will. He felt like a prisoner in his body, witnessing his actions but unable to stop himself.

He was moving through the reactor, heading toward the exit with Mother and the larger world that waited outside. He passed Zack' s mortally wounded body without a second glance but stopped when he became aware of another presence. He turned to find Cloud Strife standing before him holding Zack's sword. He was screaming something at him that Sephiroth could not hear over Mother's voice. Cloud's face was a riot of anger and betrayal. His eyes were lethal with hatred.

When Cloud attacked, Sephiroth didn't hesitate in cutting him down. With lightning fast reflexes he gutted him, Masamune sliding completely through him. Sephiroth raised him aloft over the Mako pool, glorying in this, his first sacrifice to Mother. His first of many.

Cloud stared at him across the length of the blade, his blue eyes wide and filled with pain but also something else that let Sephiroth know that the boy was far from beaten. Sephiroth saw rage, but underneath that and quickly overtaking it was iron willed determination. Sephiroth marveled at that, even Mother's voice faded a bit then Cloud grasped the blade and pulled himself along it, forcing it further through his body until his feet found purchase on the floor.

It was not possible.

The next thing Sephiroth knew he was falling into the Mako pool. He felt his death come to him and it was an easy one. A moment of pain as the Mako covered him and then then a slow ebbing of consciousness. It was like falling asleep.

But it wasn't over yet. Impossible that he should die, feel himself enter the Lifestream and know that he could come back.

A monster, he was a monster as he'd always secretly known.

...

Sephiroth found himself crouched in a high hidden place, a dark clothed fiend in a city made of glass and light. He held Mesamune in his hand, it's blade shining like quicksilver in the light. Far below him, directly beneath him was Aeris.

Horror overtook him as he understood what he was there to do. Before he could begin to stop himself he'd launched out into empty air. Sephiroth felt the air softly skim his skin like silk as he fell, the updraft lifting his hair around him like a curtain before he landed soundlessly at her back. He felt like he was trapped in a nightmare as he drew his blade back. Every ounce of his being revolted at what he was about to do. Everything he had thought he was, everything that he had hoped to become was obliterated as Mesamune sliced smoothly through her tender flesh. He watched, as though from a million miles away as her blood blossomed wetly on her pink dress and her spirit fled her body.

He saw Cloud, looking older now, coming to her too late. The look of desolation in his eyes as he caught her dying body in his arms was one that Sephiroth would never forget. No, not even after this terrible night was over, he would remember that look forever. That look clutched at his heart like a fist and stopped it cold.

"Why would I do this?! Sephiroth screamed in his head. "I would never! This vision is a lie. This is a nightmare!"

Again the scene changed and he stood watching events unfold with great rapidity. Meteor covered the sky and the destruction it caused the Planet was apocalyptic. Buildings collapsed, fires raged punctuated by explosions that shook the Planet. Everywhere people were screaming, running and dying. Worse than anything he had witnessed in Wutai the destruction was worse then anything the Planet had ever seen. Sephiroth was appalled, struck dumb with the horrible understanding that he was the cause of this calamity.

The future flashed before his eyes, the clones, his resurrection, Mother's plan to annihilate the Planet and his inability to disobey her. The vision stuttered on Cloud Strife, no longer the boy he had watched train but someone whose own humanity was destroyed. The man was an empty shell. All joy and laughter had been taken from him leaving nothing behind except a body. He stared up at him with no hatred or anger in his eyes, there was no emotion at all. Cloud stared up at him as though he were a form of pestilence that had been successfully wiped out.

Then there was a party in the street celebrateing his final defeat. His death had sparked a world wide celebration. Hatred of him and horror at what he had done had finally unified all the people of the Planet. No nicknames for him this time declaring him the Demon or the Nightmare. The noteriety, fear and respect that the old nicknames had given him, were condensed into one word. Sephiroth. His name had become a curse. His life, a history lesson taught to children so that nothing like him would ever again be allowed to happen.

A monster then. His secret fear of his own identity was known by everyone now. He shuddered at that, suddenly feeling very small and very alone as the hatred of every living person on the Planet filled him. Mother felt so strong in him now that he knew that he was just tool in her hands. A killing machine and his time had come again.

He came back. One last time. The greatest warrior the Planet had ever known. This time there was no one to stop him. Mother's voice was all there was. Buzzing so constant and loud that it felt like his mind had become a hornets nest of anger and hate urging him on as he systemically destroyed everything.

His last image was of himself walking across a devastated land. The sky was ashes and smoke that the sun hadn't broken through in months. Every living thing was dead. There were no people or animals or plants. The Lifestream was was nearly extinguished. Sephiroth's body was not his own, it was only a casing that held Mother and it was breaking down. He'd been a super human, god like in power but not invincible, Mother had driven him to the very end.

Sephiroth stumbled and fell to his knees his silver hair falling around him, matted and filthy. He felt that all his strength was gone and it took everything he had left to remain upright. Every breathe came harder then the last, the space between them grower longer and longer. His vision started to fade turning grey at the edges before everything turned black and he collapsed to the ground. He was the last one to die.

Mother's voice was the last thing he heard as he felt himself slip away. He felt Her begin to separate from him. She was impossibly strong now that she held all the power of the Planet. As the last bit of his conscience slipped away into oblivion Sephiroth saw Her future.

Mother was insatiable and would go out into the cosmos and gather more power. She would take more planets and their solar systems until her darkness, like a black hole swallowed every bit of light and life in the Universe. In the end, Sephiroth saw that there would be nothing left but Mother. She would become everything.

Sephiroth jerked awake. He wiped the sweat soaked silver hair from his face and blinked in the early morning light of his bedroom. His heart beating hard in his chest from the nightmare he had endured. He desperately wanted to believe it had been a dream but as he looked around his bedroom his saw that his TV was still smashed and there on the floor was a feather. A single golden chocobo feather that made last nights adventures very real.

And if it had been real then then his reality would very soon become a nightmare if he didn't change his ways. A shock of fear ran though him and he leapt from the bed and raced to the window. Everything outside was as it should be. It had snowed in the night and the city of Midgar looked fresh and clean, sparkling in the morning sun. To Sephiroth it looked like a Christmas miracle. Never had Midgar looked so good to him. Sephiroth smiled at the view then startled at his own reflexion in the glass. Is that what he looked like when he smiled? He didn't look half bad he thought to himself and vowed to smile more often.

He hurried to his phone, a dozen thoughts racing through his head. He would cancel all work for today especially the Nebleheim mission. None of his SOLDIERS and especially not himself would set foot anywhere near that town until he did a thorough investigation. He would never forget Mother. She had felt too real and her visions too cataclysmic for him to take lightly. He knew that she was real and that she was located in Nebelheim. Never mind what she really was or how she'd gotten there, she was a threat and his priority was to eliminate her.

But first he needed to wipe away the horror of that last vision. He needed to surround himself with people and life. He desperately needed to laugh. He wanted a party and he knew just the person to organize it.

***

The Shinra Mess hall was filled to capacity with every Shinra employee, SOLDIER and Turk that had remained overnight. The mood was overwhelming cheerful as it had been announced that all work was canceled for that day and for the next as well, giving everyone a four day weekend. Plus Sephiroth had approved a generous holiday bonus for everyone.

A late breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and biscuits was being served by caterers that had been booked at the absolute last minute. Sephiroth didn't know how Zack had pulled it off but his Second in Command had had the expertise and skill of Sephiroth's no nonsense and highly efficient secretary to help him and since the entire thing was expensed to Shinra, nothing was too good for his people.

Sephiroth walked through the mess hall to Zack's table. He was greeted by everyone and he cheerfully greeted everyone back. He felt like he had a new lease on life. Like he could right all wrongs and he knew exactly where he needed to start.

"Strife!" He said, perhaps too enthusiastically. Cloud was immediately on his feet and saluting.

"Sir!"

"At ease Cadet!" Sephiroth told him slapping him soundly on the back and almost knocking him to the ground.

As Sephiroth quickly steadied him, Cloud looked up at him with wide blue eyes that were filled with hero worship. Sephiroth remembered seeing that face filled with rage and hate and the last and worst... absolutely nothing. He remembered seeing how hard Cloud had worked and how determined he was. He also remembered that in the last vision Cloud had been the one to repeatedly defeat him. Anyone who could do that belonged in SOLDIER.

"Cloud." Sephiroth said. "Starting Monday at o-five hundred you will report to training room 3 where I will personally prepare and train you for your upcoming SOLDIER exams."

"Thank you sir!"

"Don't thank me yet, cadet. I'm going to work your ass into the ground. I will stop at nothing less than your blood, sweat and tears. Your going to hate me when I'm done with you but will survive it and you will make it into SOLDIER. I guarantee it."

"Sir thank you." Cloud said with awed sincerity.

"You're welcome. Now sit down and eat. Here have a biscuit." Sephiroth said taking it off of his plate and adding it to the top of Cloud's already full one.

"Seph are you sure you're ok?" Zack asked, squinting his eyes and studying his friend as though checking for mental illness.

"More than ok. Why do you ask?" He said, grinning as he spotted Reno across the room and flashed him the peace symbol. That trick he'd pulled on Hojo was priceless and he planned on getting a copy of the surveillance tape. A copy that he would cherish forever.

"It's just that you're not acting like yourself. Did Hojo do something to you?"

"No but I may have to do something to Hojo." Sephiroth said with quiet sincerity.

"Speaking of which," Zack laughed. "You missed a great party last night. But don't worry about it. I got the best parts on tape!"

Sephiroth grinned. "Thanks Zack. You're a good friend."

"Aww, thanks Seph! I've been telling you that for years now." He beamed.

"Also I'd like to meet Aeris."

***

Sephiroth stepped into the warm kitchen that looked exactly how it had the night before.

Aeris stood there, a surprised look on her face.

"Sephiroth?"

"Aeris." He smiled feeling so moved to see her that he had a sudden urge to turn away before he did something foolish, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. After all those years apart, he no longer had to wonder how she was because she stood before him alive and healthy.

After a heart beat of a second she was running across the room and into his arms. He hugged her closely cherishing her scent, her weight, her softness. The irrefutable fact that she was alive.

"I thought I'd never see you again" She said, her face buried in his hair.

"I told you I would didn't I?" He said, feeling choked up with emotion.

"Yes, but why did you wait so long?"

"For you to remain safe, I had to remain far away from you." He murmured in her ear.

Aeris pulled back from him, gazed up at him with green eyes brimming with tears and love.

"That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard." She said sweetly and Sephiroth couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Ahem, you two know each other?" Zack said moving to Aeris's side.

Sephiroth pulled reluctantly away and watched as Zack wrapped his arm around her waist. Sephiroth looked at them both and felt how right they were for each other. How good they looked together. Aerith belonged to Zack now but he didn't mind too much. He'd only ever wanted her to be happy and safe and with Zack she was. Besides Zack was more then just the best Soldier in his command he was also his best friend. That didn't mean he didn't plan on kicking his ass if he ever did anything to hurt her but he also knew that Zack wouldn't. Zack was too good, too kind hearted. The two of them suited each other perfectly.

"We knew each other long ago." Sephiroth said.

"Sephiroth saved my life when I was young. I haven't seen him since but... I've kept track of you through the news. I was so proud when you became the General. I knew you would."

Sephiroth smiled at her. Then turned to Zack.

"You ever do anything to hurt her you know I'm gonna kick your ass right?"

"Hell, I'll help you." Zack said, tightening his hold on her.

"It's so good that we're all together. This is the best Christmas ever." Aeris said drawing them into a group hug.

Sephiroth felt warm in their embrace, bent down and kissed the top of her head.

"Merry Christmas everyone." He said quietly, and hugged them tightly, knowing that he had truly found the real meaning of Christmas.

the end

***

HA! I finished it! And it's not even spring yet!

Christmas Present was Lucrecia so if you guessed her you get a great big cookie!

If you read this far you also get a cookie.

If you leave me a review Sephiroth gets a cookie and you can choose the flavor :)


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